How to make the best YouTube video cover images?

Separate simple and important tips for your covers to draw more attention

You know that when uploading a new video to YouTube, the system chooses by default a random frame as a thumbnail. But you can also upload a custom image that you’ve previously edited on your computer.

We always recommend that you use the second option. Producing your cover image will allow you to have a higher quality material. Undoubtedly, it will be more attractive than YouTube automatically generated, will draw more attention and better represent the content of your video.

This may seem like a simple matter, but we guarantee that you have a lot to gain by optimizing your channel with better cover images across all your videos. The goal is to help captivate the viewer before even clicking on the video. For example, in search results or related videos, the internet user chooses our videos in front of the video from another channel and the image that appears from the front is an essential point in the dispute for the attention of the audience.

Check out, now, 10 tips for making the best video covers

1. Think publicly
Put yourself in his shoes. People have many things to see on the Internet and little time. That’s why they want to know what your video is without having to click on it. So, this cover needs to be able to tell a story. Or at least be representative of the first 30 seconds of the video.

2. Show a person
Covers that show a person performing better than those who do not. Short shots of people always have good results. It is proven that if the thumbnail shows that a person looking directly into the eyes of the viewer will work even better.

3. Use bright colors
To stand out on the covers, use bright and contrasting colors. Do not use light colors. By the way, did you know that, according to YouTube, the yellow color, when used as the background color for the cover, gets more views?

4. Take care of the image
Use high definition images. Never place a fuzzy image. Your cover should be a JPG, GIF or PNG. It measures 1280 x 720 pixels or 1920 x 1080 pixels (ie 16: 9) and weighs less than 2MB.

5. Add text
A great idea is to add text to your covers. This will show quickly and clearly what the content of the video is bringing. But do not go exaggerating. More than 6 words would be great! And do not forget that the color of your text should contrast very much with the background. Otherwise, it will be difficult to read.

6. Include the logo
It’s always a good idea to add your brand to the cover of your videos. This way, people can quickly recognize that the video is yours. Even when the video is embedded, embed YouTube.

7. Set a style
It is also important that you work with a style of covers, which is repeated in all your videos. This helps viewers easily identify the videos. Obviously, each cover must be different, but it will follow design colors or patterns that unify the style.

8. Differentiate video types
If you make several different types of videos on your channel, another good option is to set a different cover style for each type of video. You can play, for example, with colors. For example, you can adopt the pattern of having covers with a black and white background, but use texts with different colors in that background. So by navigating the channel, the viewer will easily know what kind of content each video has.

9. Illustrates the content
Do not use for your cover images that are not related to the video content. Trying to fool the viewer will only give you bad and disgusting comments.

10. Think about different devices
Finally, it is very important that you make sure your covers look good on large, mobile display devices. That, when seen on a small screen, the colors continue to contrast between them, that the texts remain readable, etc.